Restless
by Maxi-Luca
Summary: Claire and Steve nearing the end of the first half of the game. Just a few added extra stuff and a little epilogue.
1. New Territories

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil, though if I did, I'd sue Paul Anderson for ruining the series.

**Restless**

Chapter 1: New Territories

Escape was so close, they could nearly smell it. All they needed to do was remove the wall and then, freedom! Slowly, Steve Burnside turned his head, with a smile on his face, and stared at Claire Redfield from the control panel were he stood; all he could do was stare at her beautiful form. Her body was perfect: slender, yet strong and sturdy; wasn't just her body that was perfect, she herself was perfect. He lost himself, just gazing at her form, leaning over the railing, legs in a comfortable position. He was so lost that he barely heard her yell his name, "Steve!"

When he realized what was going on, it was too late, the vehicle he was moving with the crane had hit a poisonous gas pipe. Soon the gas leaked into the air. Steve was horrified, filled with fear, shame, and self hatred.

"Steve, we've got to get out of here!" Claire yelled as she ran for the door. "Steve!" she yelled again, this time turning around and grabbing the boy by the arm and pulling him out the door with her.

Once out of the room that was rapidly filling with gas, Claire leaned against the cold, hard, steel door for a moment to catch her breath and allow her heart to return at a normal pace. Steve turned away and hung his head like a young boy on a baseball team who had just struck out and lost the game. Catching on his vibe, Claire walked up to her companion and softly touched his upper left arm.

"Hey? It's okay, don't worry about it," she said gently, caressing his arm.

"Claire, I am so sorry. I really messed up this time." His eyes closed and head hung completely toward the ground, feeling nothing but absolute shame and disgust for himself.

"Steve," Claire moved directly in front of him, putting her left hand on his right cheek, slowly moving it down to his neck and onto his shoulder, "Listen to me; we're going to make it out of here, okay? We're going to make it out, _together_."

"Together?" He looked up, into her ocean clue eyes, with the faintest smile on his face.

"Together," she confirmed, gently squeezing his shoulders, never breaking the eye contact. Slowly, her right hand moved upward from his arm to his neck and she smiled again, looking deep into his eyes. The passed few hours, she had really gotten to know him after he let down his wall and showed her his real self. Everything she learned about him, she grew more attached to. It all went by so quickly, yet, for the small time she knew him, she felt this connection, this special connection with him. But it wasn't just a connection, it was an attraction. From the moment she first saw him, jumping off the ladder from the watch tower, she immediately thought him quite handsome, and even had a nicely shaped physique. And within the past 24 hours, feelings inside of her changed and grew. She didn't care when she found herself reaching up toward him, slowly, and him leaning downward; she knew exactly what was about to happen. "Together…" she whispered before the gap between their faces closed by their lips meeting.

'Finally!' Steve's mind screamed. Unconsciously, his hands went to Claire's waist as their kiss continued, slowly both pushing or pulling each other toward the wall. Feeling the coldness on his back through his thin clothing, Steve barely made a movement or noise of discomfort.

Very soon, the kiss began to spill with urgency, both teens needed this release of frustration and needed a healthy dose of bliss. The kiss quickened its pace, lips were becoming bruised and mouths being opened, tongues exploring and sensations thought long gone, returned with a vengeance. Claire's hands found the collar of his black over shirt and clutched on, gripping tightly, her lips working overtime in a battle with his. As their heated kiss continued to grow, Steve gripped Claire's waist and turned them both around so that it was now Claire who was pinned against the wall. Despite the cold, Claire continued her onslaught, gripping tighter at his clothing. Hands began to roam, and Claire's hands found themselves under Steve's black over shirt, just as his grabbed and basically clawed at her thighs. Without thinking, Claire jumped upward, Steve catching her as she wrapped her legs around his hips, gripping, making sure they were close enough, tight enough; Steve pushed Claire harder into the wall to make sure he wouldn't drop her, as her hands wrapped around his shoulders to bring him closer.

It took all their strength, but the need for oxygen finally pulled them apart, both taking in giant gulps of air, both feeling the heat between them. Without a word, they locked eyes, wanting so badly to continue what they've been wanting and needing for so long, but logic was strong, and it was Claire who finally spoke out what both teens were thinking, "We should… Probably… Look for a map-"

"To find… An alternative shut off valve for the gas. Gotcha." He couldn't hide the fact that he was disappointed, he tried, but failed.

To say the truth, when Steve lowered her back to the ground, Claire was disappointed herself. She knew how heated they were getting, and quite frankly she wanted more, she wanted to go further; and telling by the bulge that had grown in Steve's pants, she figured he wanted to go further also, but they needed to keep their heads clear and straight. They could fool around when they escape.

"So," Claire started, and she fixed her pony tail a bit, "Maybe we could check that office. We might find something useful." She finished her hair, and stood placing her hands on her hips.

"Uh, yeah. Won't hurt to check it out," Steve said, fixing his collar. He looked at Claire and gave her a small smile.

Smiling back, Claire took a step forward and both teens began to walk along the pathway toward the big double doors. Before reaching the doors, Claire, walking next to Steve on his right side, touched his hand and laced her fingers with his.

Looking down at their hands, Steve smiled and gently squeezed the small hand within his and rubbed her thumb with his. He felt better now.

The walk down the stairs and the quick pace through the short hallway into the office, was a piece of cake. Once in the room, Steve looked for a light switch; finding one, he flipped it on, and a tiny lamp on the desk flickered on, giving the whole office little light.

"Um, I guess I could go through the desk while you check out the papers on the coffee table?" Steve said.

"Sounds like a plan," Claire replied.

Steve smiled at her and covered her hand he was holding with both hands before dropping it and walking toward the desk, as Claire sat on the futon couch. The pair began to rummage through piles of paper, several had coffee stains or tears. After what felt like a million minutes of searching, Claire grew tired of the silence between her and Steve.

"Steve? Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Steve replied, not moving from behind the desk.

"Are you-" she began, but stopped, deciding it was probably best not to be so blunt, "How many girlfriends have you had?"

The question kind of surprised Steve, the only other person to ask him that had been his second, and most recent girlfriend. "Uh, two. But there weren't that serious. It was just a few dates."

"For both?"

"Well," he thought for a moment, "I guess the second girl was a bit more serious than the first… But it was only about two and a half months."

"Oh? What happened?" Claire became interested and she began to ignore the piles of paper in front of her, wanting to listen to Steve rather than rummage.

The papers forgotten, Steve continued, "Eh, we just didn't click, ya know? In a relationship, I want someone who gets me, I want to get her. I want to feel that click. Ya know?"

"Yeah…" Claire said softly as she looked at him, "Did you ever… Um… Sleep with them?"

"Huh!" Steve nearly fell out of his chair. Now that was a question no one had asked. Worse, he felt his face burning and could only guess he was turning completely red.

Claire felt a little silly now that she asked, but the question was already out in the open, so she repeated, "Have you ever slept with anyone before?"

"Uhhh," Steve grew a bit nervous, "Yeah! Of course I have! I mean… Lots of… Yeah! I have." He tried desperately to sound proud and confidant, but he could tell he was failing miserably at it.

"You never slept with anyone, have you?"

After a long pause, "No."

Claire laughed, she found it absolutely adorable that he flustered so badly. His blush was visible to her even through the dim light, and she noticed he was getting more embarrassed, which caused her to giggle even more.

"Yeah, yeah," Steve groaned, "Keep laughing at the virgin." He noticed her calming a bit as he sat back in the chair, "And what about you, huh? How many boyfriends? Are you a virgin?"

When her laughs calmed, she replied, "A few boyfriends, only one that was serious," she paused, then continued, "I did everything with him… Except that. We did everything else except sleep together."

Steve found this intriguing, "Oh? Why?"

With a shrug, Claire replied, "We ended up breaking up because he cheated on me. He called me a prude, when really… He was so damn hairy I really didn't even want to see him naked and looking like the missing link or something!" she laughed. This little story also made Steve laugh.

Soon they're laughter entwined and one's laughter fed the other, and vice versa. And again, the laughter grew, not only from the hilarity of the story, but also because of their current situation, stuck in Antarctica with someone suffering from disassociate identity disorder, and possibly other psychosis, yet, they could not help but laugh. After several minutes of laughing, they finally calmed a bit, and through deep breaths, Claire finally answered, "Yes, I am a virgin."

With a smirk, Steve said, "Figured, since you didn't want to lose it to some furry woodland creature." And again, they shared a laugh together.

Soon, Claire became so induced with laughter, she leaned backward, her back smacking the tip of the futon, then suddenly, it rolled out flat. The sudden movements startled Claire as she let out a gasp and fell flat on her back against the pad, yet her head did end up hitting the wall. 'Ow! Great, another bump to keep the other two company,' she thought to herself as she rubbed her head; her laughter stopped.

Within a few seconds, Steve was right at her side, alert and worry painted all over his face; he kneeled on the floor and reached for one of Claire's hands and her shoulder, "Claire? You okay?"

Rubbing her head, Claire smiled at Steve, 'He's so sweet.' She locked eyes with him, feeling that heat beginning to spark once again, "Yeah, I'm good. Just clumsy."

Steve moved his hand to her cheek and gently caressed it, "Good."

Slowly they began moving toward each other.

"Steve…" Claire whispered, mere inches from his face.

"Yeah?"

Without even responding or saying a word, Claire placed her one hand on his shoulder, the other on his neck and closed the gap between their faces yet again, bump on the head forgotten, as the heat took over. The kiss grew, it became rough once again. As they kissed, Steve's hands roamed around Claire's torso, touching her exposed skin on her abdomen and her back.

It was now or never, Claire decided as her hands moved under Steve's black over shirt once again and she began pushing it off his shoulders. It didn't take long at all for Steve to realized what Claire was trying to do, without breaking their kiss, he pulled off his over shirt, exposing his lean and slender muscles on his arms from the yellow tank top he wore. Running her hands over his shoulders and biceps, Claire grew more hot and more antsy. She grabbed the buttons on her vest, but since Steve's hand was already there, he took the liberty to unbutton them before sliding off her vest, leaving her in her thin, black, mid sleeve shirt, which, Steve noticed in between kisses, really extenuated her breasts.

Slowly and casually, Claire lowered herself onto her back on the futon, pulling Steve on top of her. The kissing continued, never breaking as both Claire and Steve worked hard at kicking off their boots and setting themselves comfortably on the futon.

For a moment, Steve broke their kiss. He hovered above Claire, almost in a push-up position, looking down at her. He was incredibly nervous. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out where this was leading to, if they continued. Looking down at Claire, Steve froze, unsure of what she wanted him to do.

Sensing his anxiety, Claire smiled and brought up her hand to touch his cheek. Raising her head, she gave him a small and soft kiss before lowering her head again.

"You okay?"

"Um," he blushed a bit, "Yeah, honestly."

With a small giggle Claire said, "I am too. But, I'm sure I want this. You're definitely not a furry woodland creature."

Steve chuckled, "Thanks. Um… I want to also. But… I'm-"

"Nervous?" Steve nodded, and Claire smiled "I know. Me to."

Sitting up, straddling Claire, Steve removed his tank top and tossed it aside. Unable to contain her blush, Claire looked at Steve's toned chest, she grew a bit more excited. Slowly Steve leaned down, placing his hands at Claire's sides, he ran his hands up and under her shirt, lifting it. Claire extended her arms and Steve removed her shirt completely revealing her simple black bra.

He had to look, she was amazingly beautiful in his eyes, she was a goddess. He pulled her up toward him so that now they were both sitting up right. Slowly and gently he kissed her, placing his hands on her shoulders, gently rubbing them. With ease, he trailed his kisses down to her neck as one hand moved to her back and fiddled with the hooks on the bra that held her C cup breasts. It didn't take long at all before he was able to unhook it. He brought his hands back up to the straps on her shoulders and slowly began to slide them off with ease; once off, he dropped Claire's bra on the ground to join their other clothing.

With the intention of lowering her back down slowly, Steve misjudged his strength, and sent both him and Claire flying back down onto the futon. She clutched onto him, as her back hit the futon, and she couldn't help but laugh. Steve smiled and blushed a little, "Sorry about that."

Claire shook her head, "It's okay." And she kissed him again, this time moving the two of them onto their sides as her left hand traveled down his right side. Once her hand got to the top of his cargo pants, she felt around to find the buttons. As soon as she found them, she began to undo them and unzip his pants. Before she could finish, Steve went on his own to find and undo her belt. The belt took a bit longer than he expected, but once it was undone, he was able to get to the button and the zipper and easily undo both of them.

Now the awkward part came: both had to break the kiss and remove their pants. But instead of making it completely awkward, Steve decided to have a little fun with it and began to kick at his pants like a young child until they flew into the air, which cause Claire to laugh. She was grateful for Steve's little stunt, but she opted to simply remove her jeans in a quick and orderly manner.

And there they were, both Steve and Claire laid there, only clothing on them now was just a pair of green boxers and black cotton panties. It was now that they both took the opportunity to look at each other and take each other in. To Steve, Claire was perfect, she had the perfect figure, perfect breasts, perfect nipples, everything. In Claire's eyes, Steve was the right mix of lean and muscle, not too big, but not scrawny.

Finally, the socks and underwear came off and they sat facing each other, nervous beyond all belief, yet excited. Steve took charge and grabbed Claire's arms, leading her to him, to sit on his lap facing him, his erection probing Claire in her lower abs.

"I heard that sitting upward hurts the girl less. I don't want you to hurt too much," he said, rubbing her arms.

Claire couldn't help but smile as she blushed and whispered, "Thanks." She hugged Steve around his neck and began to kiss it before sitting back up, and looked into his eyes.

"Ready?"

She nodded as she positioned herself, lifting herself up more so that he was able to move himself under her a bit and adjust himself for his entrance.

"This is probably going to hurt," Steve said, as he held himself, ready to enter her.

"I know," she said. Then she closed her eyes and bit her lower lip, "Go."

As she said that, Claire lowered herself onto Steve, and Steve brought himself up into her. At first, there was pain for Claire as she felt something in herself tear. She gasped in pain, closed her eyes even tighter, and held onto Steve tighter, hugging him as if for dear life. For a moment, they froze, Steve afraid to move to hurt her more. He waited for a sign from her to continue. After a moment, he pulled her away slightly and looked at her, she looked back, the smallest of tears in her eyes, he could tell she was hurting, but she smiled and nodded, "It's okay."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

With that, both started to move, up and down, in and out. There was still a lot of pain for Claire, but it was beginning to subside as she felt more and more pleasure from the rubbing and from the penetration. She stayed on his lap, hugging him, his arms around her waist, supporting her as he thrust his hips and continued to enter her. He became overwhelmed by pure bliss, his pulse sped, his temperature rose, and he held her tighter, not wanting to let go. He couldn't contain himself as he thrusted a bit faster and Claire continued her movement of raising herself and lowering herself on top of him, each time they met, there was a crash of a painful yet blissful surges.

With their ecstasy rising, unsure of who did it, they found themselves on the futon, Steve flat on his back, Claire on top of him, her breasts planting themselves on his chest. He continued to hold her as he pushed himself inside of her from their new position. Now he was pushing a bit harder, making slight moans, Claire herself was gasping, no longer in pure pain. With each thrust he made, she gasped. "Steve…" she moaned once, as she leaned in and planted her lips onto his.

As he continued to thrust himself, it was hard to be able to kiss Claire properly, but he did manage to at least get their lips to touch, before both teens returned to their labored breathing. After several minutes passed, Steve became engulfed by pleasure and raw passion; he hugged Claire tightly and rolled them both over so that it was now he who was on top. He stopped thrusting for a moment as he hovered over Claire, he looked into her eyes and smiled before leaning down and kissing her passionately. While kissing her, Steve returned to his hip movements and began to push himself into Claire once again. With each push, her entire body jolted slightly beneath his. He moved his arms so that he was supporting himself with his elbows, his body only slightly putting weight onto Claire.

Many more minutes passed, neither Claire nor Steve knew exactly how much time had passed since they began, all they knew was that they were climbing the blissful mountain of ecstasy. Steve began to pump faster as he climbed up; Claire grabbed onto his shoulders, wrapping her legs around his hips, digging her nails into his skin. Both teens moaned and gasped and took in sharp breaths. Both were climbing, reaching their climax, and with one final, and powerful thrust from Steve, both he and Claire hit their peak, both gasping. Body tremors traveled throughout both of their bodies, both forms shook involuntary as they both released themselves, Steve nearly collapsing on Claire.

Both bodies laid still, taking in deep and satisfied breaths. Slowly, Steve rolled off of Claire and onto his side right up against her, holding her. Claire curled herself up against Steve, a small smile on her face. For a moment, both just laid there, holding each other, allowing their breathing to return to normal, letting their pulse slow down, and waiting for their body temperature to lower. Neither spoke, neither knew what to say, but the content feeling they both were sharing was enough to tell the other that everything was alright.

A couple minutes passed before Claire finally spoke, "Next time, we'll have to do this on a regular bed." She smiled and looked up at Steve, who also smiled as he kissed her forehead.

"Absolutely."

TBC….


	2. Last Moments

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil.

**Restless**

Chapter 2: Last Moments

They both laid there for several more minutes, wanting to just fall asleep in each other's arms, but both knew what needed to get done. Slowly and dejectedly, they rose from the futon and began to clothe themselves. With each article of clothing picked up, it was put back on.

When Claire lifted her red vest off the ground, the final piece of clothing she needed, she noticed a paper, a blue print. She picked it up and studied it. When she realized what it was, she nearly busted out laughing. "Steve!" she called. He turned around and stepped next to her, adjusting his black over shirt, "Look at this! It's the emergency shut off valve!" She flipped to another page, "And here! This room is an emergency release for a gas mask incase of a leak."

"Well I'll be damned!" Steve exclaimed. "Looks like we're on our way out!" He became excited and he hugged Claire, slightly picking her up off the ground and kissed her once he put her back down. "Let's get off this ice trap, eh?"

"Yeah, let's get the fuck out of here." She put on her vest and buttoned up, ready for action.

She took a step toward the door, but was stopped by Steve grabbing her arm, "Hold on." He lifted his right wrist and began to undo his leather wrist band. He grabbed onto Claire's right arm and started to put it on her, "I want you to have this."

"Oh, Steve."

He smiled again, "Let's get going."

"Um," she paused, knowing what she wanted to say, but needing a moment to regain her thoughts after looking at the new accessory on her wrist. "Oh, I was going to say, how about you go to the shut off valve and I'll get the gas mask. We might need it later on?"

"Good thinking. Yeah, okay. Sounds good."

"If I get there first, I'll go in and shut off the gas. I'll have the mask anyway."

"Right."

They walked out of the door and back into the dark, webbed hallway. Steve went straight ahead and up the stairs, Claire went to her right. Getting the mask didn't take long at all, she just went in and out and was done with it. Quickly she ran up the stairs hoping she'd catch up with Steve.

When she got to the door of the gas filled room, she realized Steve hadn't gotten there yet, 'Probably can't find the other room,' she thought. With a shrug, she placed on the gasmask and walked into the ice room.

Meanwhile, Steve did find the emergency room, only to run into a few zombies. He mentally kicked himself in the ass when he realized he'd forgotten his twin sub machine guns back in the office. Quickly getting out of the room, he sprinted across the catwalk and back down the stairs and through the door and into the office. The guns were right where he left them; on top of the desk. With a smile, Steve picked up his weapons and stepped back out only to hear a girlish giggle coming from the top of the stairs.

"Oh little Claire, I have you now!" Alfred spoke to himself and giggled again; a door closing afterward.

"No fucking way you do," Steve said confidently. To hell with himself, it was this freaky little weasel Steve really wanted to kick in the ass. He walked up the stairs and, knowing exactly what direction Alfred went, Steve walked through the double doors leading to the room where he was sure Claire was at.

In the room, Claire was able to shut off the gas and turn on the ventilation. Quickly the gas flowed out of the room and when she was sure the air was clear, she removed the mask and smiled triumphantly. "Score one for Claire," she said aloud.

Just then a door slammed open. Claire spun quickly about to raise her arms in a defensive stance, when she saw it was Alfred Ashford. Not just the freaky man, but also a rifle, which was pointed directly at her.

"Shit," she whispered.

"Oh indeed." He giggled, "Now I've got you! You shall pay for all the destruction and dismay you've caused! And most of all, you shall pay for attempting to assassinate Alexia!"

"Get a clue, dickhead!"

"What!" Alfred spun, seeing Steve at the doorway, holding two machine guns at him.

"Claire, run!" And she did, she jumped completely out of the way.

Without even a thought, Alfred fired his rifle. Steve, with lightning fast reflexes jumped out of the way, sliding onto his back, settling in front of Alfred. Before Alfred was even able to turn, Steve opened fire on the man, sending several bullets into his abdomen. Shocked and in pain, Alfred stumbled backward, hitting a rail, breaking it, and falling into the pit below.

"Steve!" Claire exclaimed as she made her way toward him, "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. He's not though."

"No he's not." She couldn't help but smile. Finally, this psychotic man was finally going to leave them alone, he was finally out of the way of their escape. Claire turned toward the drill vehicle and smiled, "Ready to go?"

With a smile, Steve stood and both he and Claire made their way to the vehicle, Claire stopping briefly to pick up Alfred's weapon.

"Alright, hang on," Steve said as he started the engine and the drill began to move. Slowly the drill hit the wall, causing what seemed like the entire building to shake. Melting ice and snow flooded through the new cracks in the wall. After a few minutes, there was a nice shaped hole and the engine died. "Hey! There's a helipad!"

Excited, both he and Claire jumped out of the silent vehicle and stepped out into the cold. Immediately, Claire wrapped her arms around herself, it was really cold. Without another word, the pair hurried toward the helipad, climbing up the stairs, huddling closely together to try and keep the cold from killing them.

Once on top, they looked around, but there was no helicopter, however, on the ground on the other side of the courtyard, Claire saw something, "Steve! It's a snow mobile!" She pointed.

"Alright!" he exclaimed.

She lead the way, about to step onto the stairs when she noticed something big walking slowly upward.

"C'mon! What are you scared or something?"

Without speaking, Claire backed up. She recognized the monster, from the files she'd read, she knew that it was Alexander Ashford, code named Nosferatu.

"Shit!"

It was almost at the top. "I'll take care of him!" Steve shouted, stepping in front of Claire. Then without warning, this thing sprouted a spider-like arm from the upper portion of its back, the biggest striking Steve, sending him sliding across the frozen cement of the helipad.

"Steve!" Claire screamed in horror as she saw her friend slide and then fall off the platform. 'Oh God!' she mentally screamed. Tears began to form in her eyes, she wanted to break down right away.

"Claire!" Steve shouted, "You have to get away! Run!"

"No! Hold on!" She turned toward the thing that used to be Alexander Ashford. It was slow, but strong. She ran a few feet away from it and brought out the rifle that was slung to her back. Carefully she looked through the scope, checking out the monster. Its head was strong and fine and there was an opening on its chest, obviously where the heart is. 'Heart or head?' Claire thought to herself. A head shot would mean almost shear success, but what it it did nothing? 'Stop thinking and fire, dumbass!" she scolded herself and placed aim at Nosferatu's head, "Sleep now, fucker," and she pulled the trigger. The rifle bucked in Claire's hands, but the shot hit its target, and the left side of the creature's head exploded and it fell to its knees then onto its belly and finally, it stopped moving all together.

'Steve…' Claire ran to the edge of the platform and looked over the edge and saw Steve dangling from a suspension cord. "Here," Claire said, bracing herself against the edge, and reached down to grab Steve. With all her strength, she pulled him up and embraced him right away, wanting to cry with relief.

Embracing her tighter, Steve buried his face in her shoulder, "I'm so sorry, Claire. I'm sorry I couldn't stop it."

Without looking up, Claire's hug tightened , 'He's sorry? He saved my ass how many times and HE'S sorry?' Moving back a little, she smiled at him and touched his cold face with her frozen hand, "We've got a long drive ahead of us." And with a smile, they both stood and walked down the stairs and huddled together walking toward the snow mobile, almost tasting their freedom.

"I'll drive," Claire said as she climbed into the driver's side as Steve sat next to her. "You need some rest." She smiled and leaned in to kiss him, then started the snow mobile, and drove off, excited for the nightmare was over…

SS

Or so they thought. Little did they know, as they drove, Alfred Ashford slowly stumbled to the lab were Alexia slept. He could feel her waking up. With each step, pain poured through his body, blood dripped down and fell to the floor. Finally he reached the lab, no longer able to stand, Alfred crawled along, getting closer to his sister.

"Alexia," he said softly, all the equipment began to flicker on, the water in her tube began to drain, "You're… Free… My dear…" and he collapsed, his breathing stopped and he finally gave into the darkness.

Opening her eyes for the first time in fifteen years, Alexia Ashford looked around her surroundings. The tube opened and she stepped out and saw her twin, the other half of her soul, dead at the bottom. She saw what happened, saw that it was those children that did this to her brother. Slowly she stepped out and sat at the steps where her brother's body lay. She gently placed his head on her lap and slowly and softly patted his hair, and begun to sing to him. While singing, she called upon her child that lay underground. She called to it, telling it to retrieve those infidels that did this to her brother. "Go, my child. Bring them to me,' she commanded and continued to sing to Alfred.

SS

Meanwhile, Claire drove the snow mobile toward the Australian base. "So, what's your plan once we get to the base?"

Leaning back, Steve took a moment to think, he didn't exactly have a home anymore. He had lived with his parents in Canada, but he wasn't very close with his extended family, course he didn't really have any. Scratching his head, he knew where he wanted to go, he wanted to follow Claire where ever she went. Finally he replied, "I don't know. I was thinking, I could follow you at least until you get sick of me." He laughed.

Smiling and chuckling a bit herself, Claire responded, "No chance of that happening anytime soon."

From the corner of her eye, she looked at Steve, then noticed something in the mirror, something coming lightning fast, "What's that?"

"Huh?" Steve looked back, "What the-"

Before he even finished his sentence, the Thing that was following them, caught them, crashing into the mobile. The Thing was so strong, it tossed the 3 ton snow mobile like it was a rag doll, once then twice before wrapping itself around the vehicle; it began to drag it back toward its mother.

A darkness was trying to consume Claire. When their snow mobile was hit and turned over, Claire his her head and literally saw stars. The darkness was taking over and she couldn't respond when Steve started shouting her name.

When she blacked out, Steve began to panic. His shoulder hurt from slamming into the window, but he wasn't hurting like Claire. The seat belt he wore got stuck and he couldn't get loose. All he could do was reach for Claire and hold her close. With her unconscious, he needed to protect her, he'd do whatever it took to protect her.

The Thing was dragging them back to the base, it was trouble, no doubt about that. It wasn't long before he found they were back at the base. The door on his side began to break and crashed outward, revealing a huge tentacle staring at him. Before Steve could blink, the tentacle wrapped itself around Steve and another blew out the driver's side door and reached for Claire. Helplessly, Steve tried to fight them off, but it was no use. The tentacles had them, they weren't free anymore.

SS

"Why!" Steve demanded. He was restrained, stuck in a chair with bars holding him.

The beautiful woman, Alexia Ashford, laughed. She looked at him, tilted her head just a bit and grinned, "Because you infidel! You DARE destroy what is MINE!" She calmed, "You shall pay the price and feel my wrath." She closed her eyes and lowered her head and suddenly, a huge axe flew at Steve, embedding itself into the wall creating yet another obstacle for him. "Both of you shall pay for taking my brother's life away from me." Then, she slowly turned around and walked out of the room.

And there was the girl, Claire, laying motionlessly on the ground. Alexia moved next to her and looked at her, studying her as if she was nothing more than a specimen for a deranged scientist. Claire would be saved for later, Alexia decided as she grabbed one of Claire's wrists and lifted her up with little effort and carried her out into the hall of the Spencer Estate replica.

Alexia walked behind the grand stair case and with barely a wave from her hand, a thick web grew on the wall, ready to hold whatever was placed on it. With a smile, Alexia set Claire in the web, and it grew more, covering her so that when she did come to, she wouldn't be able to move.

With a smile, Alexia felt pleased with herself. Perhaps it was time to start her experiment on the boy. Slowly and elegantly, she walked back up the stairs and into the study… And then she felt him… This man, this person coming to claim her new pets, to claim the peasants she needed to punish. Foolish man…

SS

One minute she was in a snow mobile, next minute she saw stars, and now, something was pulling at her. 'And why the hell am I sticky?' she wondered. Powerful arms lowered her onto the floor, familiar arms. Slowly she began to wake and her eyes fluttered open. Desperately she focused and saw green and black, then she looked up more and finally, she saw her brother, Chris, looking down at her, relief plastered all over his face. "Chris!" she exclaimed, "I finally found you." She embraced her brother.

Chris hugged her back, "You mean, I found you." He smiled.

A chuckle escaped Claire, "Whatever." For a second, she wanted this moment to freeze, nothing to ever ruin it. Then she remembered him, the young, auburn haired Canadian she had grown to care about with her entire being. "Chris, we have to find Steve." Her voice went urgent and on the edge of panic.

"Steve?"

She looked desperately at her brother, "He's a boy who escaped the island with me. Without him, I'd be dead. He's alive, I'm sure of it."

Chris saw the worry and extreme anxiety in his sister's face. "Don't worry, we won't leave him."

Then, a high pitched laugh came from up above them, on top of the stairs. Quickly, the siblings scrambled to their feet and looked up, seeing a beautiful blonde woman in an expensive looking purple gown. At first, Claire was wide eyed, thinking it was Alfred once again.

Then Chris spoke up, "Alexia!"

"Alexia? She's alive?" 'Go goddamn figure.'

"It is only a matter of time you genetically inferior siblings!" Then she giggled her psychotic giggle and walked back through the door she came from.

"After her," Chris shouted, "She knows where Steve is!"

Without thinking Claire took off at a sprint up the stairs, quickly passing Chris. She took two steps at a time, and although her head was still giving her massive pains, she ignored them. Getting to Steve was number one on her mind, the pain in her skull be damned, she wanted to get to the boy who meant the world to her.

Almost, she was almost at the top when everything shook. Little particles of debris from the ceiling fell and Claire jumped forward just as one of the what seemed like hundreds of tentacles came crashing through the wall.

"Chris!" Claire yelled upon seeing her brother fall among the rubble just as the tentacle retreated. She looked down, Chris grabbing at his knee, popping it back in place. "Chris! You okay?" she called. Then her blood went cold when she heard Steve's scream for help, full of pain and horror.

SS

The crazy woman, Alexia, came back in. Pure insanity in her eyes, no humanity at all. Quickly she walked up to him, "No time to waste, my prized fighter." She smiled wickedly and she pulled out a syringe.

Eyes going wide, Steve froze, "No. Please," he grew frantic, "Please, I beg you, please don't!"

"You don't understand, this time it'll be right. My father was a failure, but you," she gleamed proudly, "Will shine." She drove the needle into his arm and pushed the contents of the syringe into him.

"NOOO!" he screamed as the virus began to flow in his veins.

SS

"Oh God," she whispered, her blood running ice cold.

"Go!" Chris called from below, "Go find Steve. I'll catch up."

"Chris-"

"Just go!" he interrupted and waved his hand in the air.

Rising to her feet, Claire looked at the door Alexia walked through, then back at her brother. Her foot pivoted toward the door, then in a microsecond she sped to the door, slamming into it, bursting it open. Not even bothering to close it, she sprinted through the study and into the only other door and found herself in a hallway. She frowned and anger rose within her as she wanted very much to break the display cases that were lined through the hall. But she knew there was no time, Steve was in big trouble, he needed her and she needed to get her ass in gear and quick before it was too late.

Wasting no more time, Claire ran fast, faster than ever before down the hallway, barely missing the door to her left. She checked it, it was locked. She cursed under her breath and continued for the other door, hoping it there was a god that it was unlocked. Once she got to it, she opened it and thanked the heavens someone was listening to her.

Where she walked into was a strange room that reminded her an awful lot of Chief Brian Irons little torture dungeon. She shuddered at the thought.

The first door was at her right, a quick glance confirmed everything within eye sight was a jail cell and contained only virus carriers. She grabbed at the handle of the door next to her and it opened easily. She stepped inside and saw that it was a large, empty room, save for a doorway. Slowly she walked to it and peeked inside.

It was a hall with enormous suits of armor lined along the walls. In the distance, she could barely make out a figure. She stepped closer and began to jog deeper into the hall. Finally she saw clearly who the figure at the end of the tunnel was.

"Steve!" she exclaimed and ran to him, He was contained by metal straps. Quickly she looked around and saw a red button on the wall next to him. Instinctively she pressed it and the bars that held Steve retracted, however, there was still the matter of the giant ax that held him.

"Uh," Steve groaned, moving his head.

"Oh, God… Steve." Her voice shook, and she leaned toward him.

"Claire," he said softly. He sounded and felt incredibly tired.

Without a word, Claire grabbed at the handle of the ax and pulled with all her might. She tugged twice, then three times. The fourth time she pulled and held and kept pulling until her hands finally slipped and she nearly stumbled backwards. It was useless; she fumed and wanted to cry.

"Steve," she said softly, "What happened? Why did you scream like that?"

"That crazy bitch… She said she was going to… To do to me, what she did to her own… Father. She's completely… Insane-" then his eyes went wide, "Ahh!" He began to claw at his chest.

"What's wrong, Steve?" Claire grew frantic. She grabbed at his shoulders, trying to calm him, but with his wailing arms, he pushed her aside and clawed at himself again.

"Claire…" he gasped, "Claire… Help… Help me… Cuh-Claire…" then his voice went deep and something inside him, bone, snapped loudly.

Claire covered her mouth with her hands as she saw blood squirt, bones shifting, and Steve began to change into something not human. "No," she whispered, wishing upon wishing that it wasn't real, that this wasn't happening. It wasn't suppose to be happening, not to Steve, not to her Steve. Then he grew so big, his skin changed to a dark green, and finally, large bone spikes emerged from his shoulder as he hunched over, finally ceasing the spasms.

"Steve!" Claire shouted, in fear, and in horror, and in disbelief. Then time slowed and the creature with a very familiar face looked up toward her, eyes blood red and animalistic burned into her. "No," she whispered once again, "NO!"

Then, the monster grabbed the ax and easily pulled it out of the wall and stood tall, targeting her.

An emotional blow hit Claire, knocking the wind out of her. She wanted nothing more than to fall to her knees and cry, but she couldn't. This monster that bore a resemblance of Steve Burnside was about to attack. Claire began to fly and she ran, actually _feeling_ the wind of the ax flying passed her body. It gave her more energy, then she saw a gate falling, threatening to seal her only route of escape. Suddenly, she found the energy, and bursted into speed she didn't know she possessed and dove under the falling gate, barely making it.

The monster howled and began to hack at the bars. Slowly Claire rose to her feet and leaned against the wall for support. It hurt her, she was dizzy, and she did not want to believe the sight in front of her. She knew she needed to run, but she couldn't turn away as the monster continued to hack. She took a step toward the monster, tears about to fall when suddenly, that tentacle blew through the wall and knocked her into the wall. She was dazed again, but she tried to reach her feet, then she was grabbed again by the tentacle as it wrapped itself around her again, threatening to squeeze the life out of her. She struggled, but it was futile.

With one final blow, the monster broke the gates and stepped in, dragging its heavy feet as it slowly raised its head, once again targeting Claire. She struggled and it raised the ax and brought it down fast and hard. It was too late for her, and she knew it as she instinctively turned her head and waited for the deadly blow.

But it never came. Slowly she looked up and saw the monster staring at her, confused, seeing in those blood red eyes, humanity seeping back in.

"C-Claire…" it whispered. And with great force it brought the ax back up and powerfully brought it down onto the tentacle that held Claire, butting it, breaking it. She fell onto the ground, and the wounded tentacle, bleeding, slammed powerfully into Steve, sending him flying and smashing painfully into the far wall; bones broke, and internal bleeding began. The tentacle retreated.

Scrambling to her feet, Claire ran to Steve's side, then dropped to her knees, "Steve…" she said, pain audible through her voice. Slowly she got closer to him and reached out her hand to his chest, as he returned to his human form.

He felt her hand and reached for it, placing it on his face, one of the last places he could feel anything, "You're… Warm," he barely managed.

"Sshh, don't talk. Save your energy." She was on the verge of breaking down, "Steve, you've got to hang in there, okay? M-my brother came. We're getting out of here." Her voice shaky.

He smiled, his eyes fluttered as if he was trying very hard to stay awake, "I'm glad… Your brother kept his promise," then his smile faded, "I'm sorry… I cannot."

"Wh-what? What are you… Saying?" she didn't want to know.

Then his smile came back, but it was a smile saying he knew what was about to happen. He let go of her hand and place his on her cheek, gently stroking her with his thumb. Gently and weakly he pulled her face closer and gave her one last kiss, so softly, so gently, "I'm glad that I met you. I… I love you… Claire…" he drew out his final breath on her name, refusing to let go until he said her name. Then his hand dropped, and his head fell forward, he stopped breathing.

"Steve?" Claire said once, hoping he'd just fallen unconscious, "Steve!" but she knew better, "STEVE!" Then it hit her, worse than a ton of bricks, worse than anything. And finally, after holding it in, the tears poured out like a raging river and Claire could not contain herself as she sobbed loudly. Wrapping her arms around Steve, rocking him in her embrace, she held tighter, crying; she began to go through hysterics. It hurt, hurt so bad she wanted to die.

"I love you, too," she whispered in between sobs and she held him tighter, stroking his hair. He was gone, and she was alone once again. Never again will she see his beautiful ice blue eyes, or his fiery auburn hair, or hear his adorable Canadian accent. He was gone, forever, and she was alone.

TBC…

Author's Note: I'm skipping the ending of the game, because we all know what happens, Chris kills Alexia, Wesker holds Claire captive then beats the crap out of Chris, and the siblings fly off into the sky.


	3. Something you left with me

Disclaimer: I don't own Resident Evil

**Restless**

Chapter 3: What you left with me

36 weeks later

"Okay, Claire, push! You can do it," the doctor said.

And she did. It was painful, more pain than she could have ever imagined. Everyone who'd ever done it said it was painful, but she never expected THIS much pain. It'd been already almost 4 hours since it started, but now, it was intense.

"The head is almost out. Claire, I need you to push again, but give it your all. We're almost done here."

Sweat fell from her brow as she panted and her head fell back into the pillow. She took a deep breath and pushed, feeling as if she was about to explode, when…

"There we go! She's out! It's a girl, a baby girl, Claire."

Relief washed over Claire as she fell back, her body drained, but she still smiled and panted as the nurses cleaned off her new born baby. "She… My…" she couldn't really talk much, but when the nurse handed Claire her baby, she didn't need to talk. 'She looks like an alien,' Claire said in her head and smiled, tears of joy falling down her cheeks.

And there she was, calmer, less in pain, and cleaner an hour later, still holding her healthy baby girl, when her brother, Chris, his girlfriend, Jill, and other friends walked in.

"Hey," Chris said gently.

Claire looked up at her brother from the tiny person in her arms, smiled, and returned to look in amazement at the newborn sleeping in her arms.

"She's beautiful," said Rebecca Chambers, one of the surviving members of STARS.

"She really is," Jill Valentine added.

Smiles surrounded her, but she honestly could care less, she was too involved with her baby, beautifully and comfortably sleeping.

"She looks just like you, Claire," Chris said as he leaned in closer. Jill stepping close behind him.

"No," Claire said, with a small tone of sadness, "She looks like her father… Steve." But then, the sadness vanished and she smiled again, leaning close to the baby, unable to take her eyes off.

"What are you going to name her?" Leon Kennedy asked.

Thinking for a minute, Claire was quiet. The passed 30 weeks, since she found out she was pregnant from her one adventure in the Antarctic, she'd been going through several names, but she was settling on a certain name. After seeing the light color hair on the newborn's head, a tint of brown and red, very close to the same color as Steve, she settled on, "Stephanie." The female equivalent to Stephen or Steven, "Stephanie Redfield."

Leon sat next to Claire and place a hand on her shoulder, "That's a good name." He smiled gently at her.

She looked up at him and smiled back.

"Can I, um, hold her?" Chris asked. Right away, Claire looked shocked, and afraid. Her brother was a great military commando, but when it came to delicate things, he was a goof. "Please?" he begged and flashed her a grin.

Jill couldn't help but laugh, "Don't worry, Claire. I'll be right next to him."

At Jill's comment, Claire eased a bit and slowly and gently handed her daughter to Chris. At first, Chris froze, staring in awe at the tiny person, barely bigger than his hands. "Wow," he whispered, Jill laughed, "Hey, Steph," he said softly, "It's your Uncle Chris," he smiled and looked at Jill, "And your Auntie Jill." Tears began to form in Chris's eyes, "You're so beautiful… I will always play games with you." Everyone chuckled.

"He will, too," Jill added.

Claire looked around at everyone and smiled. This was her family, Chris, Jill, Rebecca, Carlos, Barry, and of course, Leon. Everyone she cared about was around her, and now, she had a new addition, a reminder of her first love. She used to worry about forgetting him, she'd feel guilty and hate herself, and knew she would hate herself if she ever forgot. Now, she knows she won't. She's not so alone anymore, there's a part of Steve in Stephanie, there always will be, and now, he'll always be with her because she has a solid connection now, a beautiful, innocent, and amazing connection that she loved long before it was born, and will continue to love throughout her life.

'Steve,' she said in her mind, 'It's our daughter. I wish you could've been here, but I know you saw, you were here. I promise, she will grow up knowing who her father was: a great man.'

Claire Redfield smiled again as she took back her daughter. Little Stephanie opened her eyes and looked at her mother, wiggling as a newborn does and made little noises. Claire smiled; she was finally happy once again, the last time she felt like this was when she was with Steve, but now, she felt that contentment once again simply in holding her daughter. Claire Redfield was happy.

End Scene!


End file.
